Strangers Like Me
by dustyVHS
Summary: Rei is the child of Emperor Kon, inheritor to the throne, and everything a prince should not be: unassertive, cowardly, house-kept... Problem is, when he finally sets his foot down, it was by the advice from a man facing the hangman's noose. [Yaoi/Hiatus]
1. I The Fine Line Between Right and Wrong

**VelvetSoulPanda- **It was just a matter of time before this finally decided to take over my writing spirit. Then all it had to do was claim a fandom for a muse and the rest is history.

**Summary:.. **Rei Kon is the child of Emperor Kon, potential inheritor to the throne. Problem is, this unassertive, cowardly, house-kept, and compassionate prince decided to take advice from a pirate. **[**Yaoi]

**Genres:.. **This story falls under the following categories- Drama/Romance/Action-Adventure/Humor

**Disclaimer:.. **VelvetSoulPanda does not own Beyblade or any other commercial/marketing references that may appear throughout the story. WARNING: Yaoi fanfiction. Don't like it? Don't read it, don't complain, and don't be an ass about it. Just let it go and move on.

**Beta Reader:.. **None

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><p><strong>Strangers Like Me<br>**_One – The Fine Line Between Right and Wrong_

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><p>It was ironic that the weather in the port town of Okha of the Sakhalin Island was sunny that one morning. Despite the frosty chill of the wind, and the inevitable threat of winter that was coming their way, the skies were devoid of clouds and a clear, beautiful baby blue. Even the sun's rays were stronger than usual, fighting against some of the cold to provide fleeting feelings of warmth.<p>

The irony behind such beautiful weather on this one morning was the mass-hanging that was taking place.

A crowd wasn't meant to be there for the occasion, much less to stand around and watch as if it were a positive spectacle, but most of the town's men-in-arms were busy keeping the prisoners to-be-hung in order, as well as disposing of the lifeless bodies in horse-drawn hay wagons. They had no time to keep the nosy civilians out.

In the fort's open courtyard, where the hangings were taking place, the Governor of the land stopped by briefly to check in on matters. He was on his way to meet with another royal who was visiting for the next week for a mid-morning tea and then tour of his royal army's stronghold. Whether his royal guest was early or he himself lost track of time, thus making him tardy, the Governor was surprised to see his guest appear at the fort.

"Emperor Kon!" The man with dark burgundy-red hair nearly gasped in surprise. Subconsciously smoothing down the fabric of his deep navy-blue military suit that he wore and fixing the white and red sash that blazed across his chest. Brushing non-existent dust off the golden fringe of the decorative caps on his shoulders, Governor Nikolau greeted Emperor Kon with a strong, friendly handshake that was equally reciprocated. "I wasn't aware that you would be coming to view the hanging this morning."

Now while Lord Nikolau was, in many aspects, a rather handsome Governor (worthy of that of a king's), his features paled in comparison to Emperor Kon's. Given his oriental genetics, Kon had pitch-black hair and refined physical features. Aside from this, Kon was not only of the Neko-jin people -earning him a set of dark, brilliant golden eyes- but he was also from an island nation of a tropical climate (thus earning his gift of unblemished skin to be unblemished _tanned_ skin). To top all things off, he was one of few Asian men that had the lucky genetic draw of decent height.

Emperor Kon shook his head with the hint of a grin. "No, no, it's quite alright, Governor Nikolau. Our carriage was headed to the military fort when I saw both the crowd and your own carriage. I suspected that something terrible might have occurred so I ordered that we turn around so I could see what's happening here..." He trailed, hoping that the man that was having him over would explain what was going on.

Nikolau nodded, "I thank you for your concern, Emperor Kon, but you had no need to worry. As you know the pirate populous is beginning to become more than just a nuisance- it's their kind that is stopping the world from moving forward and prospering." The red-headed man said with stern thick in his voice. Then, his pride visibly grew. "And...Four months back, a sailor from one of my missing vessels of almost a year's M.I.A. finally made his way back here to port Okha. He reported that the ship-."

"Bàba!" Governor Nikolau and Emperor Kon turned around to see a little boy run at the two of them, followed by two armored guards that were struggling to keep up with him. The little boy shared a lot of the same physical qualities Emperor Kon did: big, golden eyes, but brighter; silky, inky-black hair, but longer and pulled into a small thin braid at the base of his neck; rounder and smoother jaw line and cheeks. The little boy skidded to a halt before the two older men and bowed respectfully to King Nikolau. "Good day, Governor Nikolau."

The King gave a grin and bowed his head in return, "Good day, Prince Rei. If I'd known you were coming I would've brought my dear little Salima along with me."

"Rei, my son, I asked that you wait in the carriage for me." Emperor Kon lightly scolded, fixing the large green and gold hat on his head. (1) He gave his son, whom wasn't paying attention, a hard pat on the head and then a glower once he caught his eyes. Rei immediately apologized to his father, and stood quietly beside him watching the line of people in hand and ankle cuffs drag forward into the fort's courtyard. Each time they stepped forward, the sound of doors opening boomed in the air. And when that happened, he'd hear gagging. He curiously wondered what it was.

"I apologize for my son's interruption. You were saying?"

"As yes. Well, turns out that this sailor- a cabin boy, as it turns out- returned with _vital_ Intel that affects the world." Nikolau continued, gesturing that Emperor Kon step closer to a table laid out with different maps, blueprints, and other navigational charts. He held up a dirtied letter that bore the symbol of Okha's royal navy on it and handing it for Emperor Kon to read. "The ship he was on was seized by pirates. As far as we know, the pirates most likely sank her to the bottom of the sea once they finished the raid. Survivors of the wreck were held prisoner by the pirates, and one by one somehow traded for profit or killed. However, this boy, before escaping from the slave market he was sold to, overheard the pirates talking about an island nation where most pirate vessels make berth."

Emperor Kon's golden eyes snapped up in shock and amazement. Nikolau smiled proudly and nodded.

"I've sent letters to every major capital in the world. With every great army there is out there forming an alliance, we should have no problem located this uncharted island and eradicating the pirates once and for all."

Emperor Kon nodded, then glanced at the line of men, women, and children to be hung. "And these people?"

"Ah, yes. Since receiving this information, the Tsar of Russia convened a meeting with all the Russian court, and this following law has been passed for all of Russian territory to follow:" The man then waved for a soldier to come with a docket in his hands, gesturing for him to read aloud what it said. The man cleared his throat and began to read.

"In order to affect a timely halt to deteriorating conditions and to ensure the common good, a state of emergency is declared for these territories by decree of Lord Vladimir Grigoriev, duly appointed representative of His Majesty, the Tsar." He said. "By decree, according to martial law, the following statues are temporarily amended to all persons found guilty of piracy, or aiding a person convicted of piracy, or associating with a person convicted of piracy: Right to assembly, suspended. Right to habeas corpus, suspended. Right to legal counsel, suspended. Right to verdict by a jury of peers, suspended. By decree, all persons found guilty of piracy, or aiding a person convicted of piracy, or associating with a person convicted of piracy shall be sentenced to hang by the neck until dead." (2)

Beside his father, little Rei stared hard at the reading man with confusion bright in his sunny golden eyes. As bright as he was, he was only eight years old, so most of this was like trying to understand the native Russian tongue spoken in the streets of Okha. Again, he heard the sounds of opening doors and gagging, and the line of chained people moved forward once again. The little Neko-jin was distracted by this long enough that his father, content with the news he heard from Nikolau, took notice of this.

"Curious, my son?" The Emperor asked, and Rei nodded meekly in return when he saw that everyone was watching him. Emperor Kon took a firm hold on the back of his son's shoulder and guided him forth to the courtyard, Governor Nikolau and their combined guards following them. "Come, then. I shall show you the importance of keeping order in the world, and showing wrong-doers their proper place."

Still riddled with confusion, Rei simply nodded again and followed his father's lead. He watched, subtly recoiling with fear, at the eyes the prisoners gazed at him with as they passed. There were people of all ages, and their eyes were hollow. Emotions like hate, fear, and hopelessness filled them, and it made Rei's little heart ache. He felt like, somehow, it was his fault the people were suffering. And he didn't even know why they were suffering, or if they even _were_ suffering for that matter.

Once he set foot in the courtyard, however, everything became clear like the tropical water of his homeland.

The line of prisoners lead to a deck set up with six hangman's nooses. The nooses had been lowered through a trap door that was directly beneath them, and from those knots limp, lifeless bodies were being removed and dragged to horse-drawn wagons. The nooses were then hoisted back up above the deck and the trap doors shut. Once that was done, a Russian soldier gave an order to bring up more prisoners.

The line began moving: six steps, like before, Rei noted. Six people walked up the steps to the knots: four men and two women. Of the four men, one was elderly, two looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties, and one was somewhere in the middle of that. Of the two women, one looked like she was in her late thirties and the other in her mid to late twenties. There was nothing striking about any of these people, they all looked like regular civilians. Some more well-kept than others, but still civilians all the same. They each stepped up to the knots which were placed neatly around their necks and tightened. Once secured, the officers standing by stepped back and gave a signal.

The trap doors beneath their feet sprang open, and all six peoples dropped. The light in their eyes vanished in a heartbeat. Little Rei gasped in shock.

"You see, my son," Emperor Kon began, "There are two kinds of people in the world: Those consumed by greed and self-interest, and those that work towards the gains of a community as a whole. If we do not teach these people how to redeem themselves in society, we have no choice but to use them as an example for others that still have a chance to redeem themselves."

His father's words were nothing but background noise in Rei's ears, for the little Neko's attention was drawn to another little boy farther down the line and causing a scene.

The boy looked to be about his age. He had light, fair skin dirtied only by the sweat and grim of labor, and a unique two tones of hair color: light and dark blue. The little boy screamed at the top of his lungs, pulling and thrashing against the iron cuffs that kept him from going anywhere. Rei didn't know a thing when it came to speaking Russian in full sentences, but he was familiar with a few words. (His father was, after all, building an alliance with this particular Russian island's nation. It would only be a matter of time before he too had to learn the language.) He caught a few curses and insults the little boy spat at the guards that were struggling to keep him calm, as well as crying out "mother."

"After all," Emperor Kon whispered into his son's ear, causing a shiver that shook the little Prince's body. "If people didn't act upon such selfish impulses and disobey the law, others wouldn't have to pay the price with them." The man said, referring to the little blue-haired boy in a panic. The guards pulled the little boy out of the line and held him next to the line, still in the same spot but just so he wouldn't disturb the others. Rei followed his gaze up to the row of knots, and found a beautiful woman with silvery-blue hair in the middle. Despite her dirtied and rattles appearance, she stood out from the others around her; she had a form of elegance about her that civilians didn't usually have. It baffled Rei why _she_ was being hung.

The guard beside her pointed to her son and asked her a question in Russian, to which her reply was curt and definite. She gazed down at her little boy a final time, brown eyes hinting the start of tears, and whispered what Rei imagine to be a final goodbye. The little blue haired boy shrieked in protest, fighting and thrashing against his binds harder than before, and cried for his mother.

Once again, six bodies were mercilessly dropped, and simultaneously a tear slid down Rei's cheek.

The little boy wailed in agony, his bright eyes full of tears that muddied his dirty face, and tried still to run to his mother. Prince Rei's heart was torn. He imagined his own mother, whom he loved dearly, in that woman's place. He imagined himself in the boy's place.

He didn't have to imagine the pain he'd feel, or the lump in his throat he found hard to swallow even _thinking_ about it.

"Do not pity him." Emperor Kon told his son, and Rei's eyes snapped up to look at his father and Governor Nikolau who regarded the scene with a cold gaze. "His fate shall follow hers."

"These people chose this fate the moment they chose to follow a life of piracy or any involvement in another man's life of piracy." Nikolau added, waving so that his two guests would follow. "Come. Freshly-brewed tea waits for us at the other fort, and I'm sure my daughter Salima will be very content to have a play date with Rei."

But Rei _couldn't_ push aside his condolences for the boy that now wept in a heap on the dirt ground. He _couldn't_ forget the image of the boy's mother, trading her for his own mother. And he _couldn't_ forget the boy's agonizing, sullen eyes. As he walked away, the young Prince looked over his shoulder to look at the little civilian boy. In that moment, his golden eyes met the boy's eyes—a strange red he'd never seen before— and for that fleeting second Rei shared his grief.

He felt like he could die.

His eyes swelled with tears, and a few managed to roll down his cheeks. In the split-second he took to swiftly wipe them from his face before his father noticed, he'd already turned the corner. For the remainder of the day, his stay, and for what felt like forever, the image of that little boy sentenced to die haunted his memory.

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><p>(1) I'm unfamiliar with the name this hat goes by, but if you look up Syaoran from Card Captor Sakura it's the same hat he wears when capturing the Clow Cards.<p>

**VelvetSoulPanda-** If you enjoyed reading, please review. (If you did, you can thank the soundtrack "POTC: On Stranger Tides" for the kick that got this story going!)

I swear I'm not a horrible person ;-;


	2. II  Worlds Apart

**VelvetSoulPanda- **I...am in love with Johnny Depp. And Penelope Cruz. And Orlando Bloom. And Kiera Knightly. And Geoffrey Rush. And Ian McShane. Ugh, why don't I just go ahead and say I'm in love with Pirates 1-4 while I'm at it hahahahaa...! The more I watch it to get me in the mindset for this story, the more I fall in love with it. Jerry Bruckheimer, you're my hero for bringing Pirates to life

**Summary:.. **Rei Kon is the child of Emperor Kon, potential inheritor to the throne. Problem is, this unassertive, cowardly, house-kept, and compassionate prince decided to take advice from a pirate. **[**Yaoi]

**Genres:.. **This story falls under the following categories- Drama/Romance/Action-Adventure/Humor

**Disclaimer:.. **VelvetSoulPanda does not own Beyblade or any other commercial/marketing references that may appear throughout the story. WARNING: Yaoi fanfiction. Don't like it? Don't read it, don't complain, and don't be an ass about it. Just let it go and move on.

**Beta Reader:.. **None

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><p><strong>Strangers Like Me<strong>  
><em>Two – Worlds Apart<em>

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><p><em>...Twelve Years Later...<em>

Being a Prince was many things. Rei summed up his perspective on it in two short phrases: "mentally exhausting" and "unbelievably boring".

As a child, Rei admits that he had more than a fair share of fun. He got to travel around plenty with his mother and father, and see things many children his age could only dream of seeing. He got whatever toys he desired- toys he didn't even know of its existence yet, but his father always returned with them. He had access to books upon books full of worldly facts and history- the ones filled with pictures remained his favorites to this day. And above all he had power: the power of a future emperor. Sure, he had to split these same perks with his other brothers and sisters—they were nine in total—but that never made a difference to them. One or nine crazy requests, they'd always be fulfilled.

However, the older Rei grew, the less and less appealing his lifestyle became. He never knew what to expect the next day when he was a kid. Now, his mornings followed the same dull routine that he could perform with his eyes shut and mind half asleep. Before he had not a care in the world. Now civil duties and decisions were beginning to look to him for answers. Answers he wished he knew to give them.

In short, his life was growing exceedingly bland and, for that, unbelievably frightening.

"Mao, I think I'm going through my mid-life crisis...right now." Rei whined, running his hands through his long, loose hair and pulling at its ends. Behind him, his housemaid Mariah let out a humored laugh.

"Please, Rei, you said that early last week when you left for the inauguration of the island's new port. You can only go through so many mid-life crises before you kick the bucket." She teased him, giving his long raven hair a tug. "Could you please stop pulling on your hair? It's impossible to finish this braid with you pulling strands out of it all the time."

"Sorry." The golden-eyed young adult mumbled in apology, deciding to fiddle with his bangs to busy his hands instead. He let out a sigh. "It's just that...well, you _remember_ how that occasion ended, and I definitely don't believe I'm prepared for the war anniversary ceremony today."

Mariah nodded slowly, finishing the fish-tail braid she wove in Rei's hair and tying it off at the bottom. "But the incident at the port wasn't your fault. You tripped."

"Over air!" Rei emphasized, throwing his hands up in the air and jumping off his bed. "All I had to do was take the sword and walk it over to the town's Governor. What do I do? I trip up a flight of not twenty, not ten, but _three_ steps! Three! How on earth does a person trip _up_ stairs and such a short amount of them?"

Mariah frowned at the prince and put away his brush and comb in his nightstand. She then picked up the frilled headband and slipped it back on her head, holding her hair back in place. "It could happen to anyone, Rei, don't beat yourself over it."

"But it happened to _me_, the last person that it should ever happen to. Do you know how humiliating it was? I dropped the sword that slayed one of the Neko people's greatest war enemies of all time; a sword that's never touched the ground ever since it was forged. And I dropped it!" Rei whined, snagging a pillow from his bed and slamming it in his face repeatedly. "I'm a heir to the throne and I'm so clumsy and stupid! I'm stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid...!"

While Rei continued to assault his handsome face with the pillow, a knock came from the bedroom door. Mariah quickly walked over to open it and found her older brother, Lee, waiting there with two other maids behind him. Lee was Rei's right-hand man for anything he needed around the palace. He even acted as his bodyguard at times. He gave his sister a warm smile and hello, then made a confused face when he saw what the prince, his secret best friend, was doing.

"Is there any particular reason why Rei's having an episode today?" He whispered to his little sister.

Mariah chuckled a grin and replied, "He's nervous about the ceremony this afternoon."

"Ah. I know how to fix this..."Lee nodded once, and a knowing smile graced his features. He knew what to do to get his friend out of this self-conscious rut. "Rise and shine, my prince! I can't believe you were still asleep! Do you have any idea what today is?" Rei groaned loudly a droning "No!" and flopped back in a heap on his bed. Lee laughed and snapped his fingers for the maids behind him to go get Rei changed with the new garments they'd brought along with them: Emperor's orders. "His majesty your father sent up new linens he received just today from a good friend of his in Japan. He requests that you wear them today instead of the other outfit you set aside."

As Lee explained this, Rei was dragged to his feet by the other two maids behind a standing six-fold paper wall and changed out of his soft, white and gold silk pajamas into the new attire. "You mean the one I've spent the last three days experiencing a headache from because I didn't know if it was up-to-par with his standards? _Fantastic_, it's great to see how much effort he sees I put into that." The royal Neko-jin rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Right. Well, I'm sure you can speak to him about it later."

"Ha! Remind me again when was the last time my father and I had an actual father-to-son conversation? I don't know why I still call him 'dad'; I might as well start calling him Emperor Kon just like everybody-what is _that_?"

"What is…_what_?" Lee blinked, both he and Mariah curious.

"That's supposed to go on my _head_? There's _no way_ I'm putting that on!" The prince protested. "I'm already a walking target of embarrassment waiting to happen as is! If I wear that I'll just be _asking_ people to laugh at me!" The maids insisted that Rei needed to put on the "thing" and Rei continued to argue against putting it on. After minutes of struggle, he finally built up the courage to step out from behind the curtain in the new clothes he was given.

The prince was wearing an olive green Mianfu silk robe, embellished with gold and black embroidery and detail. The shoulders were angled and extended out longer than his actual shoulders, allowing the sheer fabric of his billowing sleeves to fall out beneath them and drape against the equally long and airy dress of the Mianfu to the floor. In his hands, Rei still held the black and gold slippers, a men's fan, and the headdress he refused to wear. He scrutinized his appearance in the mirror. Mariah and Lee came beside him to also get a look.

"Handsome as always, your highness." The pinkette beamed, tucking strands of his bangs behind his ear. Rei tested out putting the headdress on his head.

"...Perhaps you should say that...um...'thing'." Lee suggested, making a face at how ridiculous the thing looked on Rei's head, "came damaged in the parcel. I'm sure the maids won't breathe a word otherwise, _right_?" The two women quickly nodded in agreement and Lee sent them away. Once the trio knew they were alone, Lee snagged the atrocious headdress from Rei and pretended to wear it himself. "I feel like royalty!" He swooned in laughter. Mariah gave her brother a small shove while laughing as well, trying to not let the older man tease their friend but still finding his jokes funny.

"Ha, ha, ha." Rei stuck out his tongue with a smirk and raspberried at him. "You've never had to wear one in public, so you find it funny."

"Hysterical, actually. Buddha, who the hell invents these things?" Lee inspected it, tossing it back to Rei. "It looks like a rectangular scroll case with handles, tassels, and a flower-thing on the front of it." Rei shriveled his nose at his and carelessly tossed it on the ground, slumping to a sit on his bed.

"Let's not forget that they actually waste gold to foil it in and embellish it with these pretty rocks." Mariah added, picking up the garment from the floor and putting it on the bed next to Rei. She excused herself then to leave and tell the officials downstairs that Rei would be coming momentarily. "Don't be long!"

Once by themselves, Lee walked over to Rei and sat beside him, giving the prince a heart-felt pat on the back. "Hey, listen. Just relax, ok? You get too worked up and nervous over these things and that's when you start making mistakes. If you ever need to ease your mind or take a breather, Mariah and I will be standing by waiting on the throne." The black-haired man assured his best friend. "Just stare at us the entire time if you have to, we'll give you a thumbs up throughout the whole ceremony."

For the first time that morning, Rei genuinely smiled and bumped fists with Lee. "And if my mind goes completely blank when I have to speak my lines?"

"I'll mouth them to you." Lee grinned with a chuckle. "But I doubt that. We rehearsed those so much _I'm_ reciting them in my sleep."

Rei chuckled himself and picked up his ridiculous headdress. "I swear to all holy beings and Buddha himself: if I didn't have you Lee I think my father would've sentenced me to hang by now." Breaking off a large piece of the headdress and making it significantly smaller, Rei attached the object to the back of his head where his braid began. Following Lee's lead, Rei slipped on his shoes, stood, and followed him out the door.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

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><p>Bleak, gray skies in the middle of the day were never a good sign for Rei. The prince was already known to be a magnet for…"ill luck"…on a regular basis with all physical and spiritual odds in his favor.<p>

He would never admit to being a klutz.

And so, on his quick voyage between the Oriental Oceania islands that composed of the Neko-jin kingdom to the location of the ceremony, Rei his in the captain's quarters. He tried to busy his mind going through different scrolls, but that just made him worry even more. He nearly chewed his nails away completely by the time they made port.

"Your highness," The captain knocked upon entering the room. Rei jumped up in surprise, knocking over a teacup and causing the hot fluid to spill all over a stack of scrolls. The raven-haired prince yelped in panic and, without thinking, took the sash to his Mianfu to soak up the damage. "We've arrived at Xien-Lao port, your highness. We'll be lowering the longboats shortly."

"Uh, great, great!" Rei nodded, flashing a quick grin at the man. "Tell me when you're ready to disembark; I'll be out in a moment!"

"Will you need anything before leaving the ship, your highness?" The captain asked, trying not to betray any emotion on his face as he saw the Neko heir fumble around.

Rei was going to ask for rags, but found it to be useless at this point. Instead, wish a sigh at himself, he removed the sash from his wait and handed it to the captain. "No, just…ask someone to wash this for me before the tea stains the fabric. Father will have my head if he tea stains on that."

"Anything else, your highness?"

"No, that's all. Thank you, captain." The captain gave a quick bow to the prince upon leaving and shut the door behind him. Left with his own thoughts once more, he wandered over to the window to take a look outside. There was lively movement, and a crowd of civilians was starting to form. They were, no doubt, excited at the opportunity to see one of the royal members of the Kon family. It wasn't everyday a noble left their secluded island to visit the other islands.

"Rei?" Lee knocked, entering the room quickly, the door left ajar behind him.

"Do you think they're expecting me?" The prince asked suddenly, making his most trusted friend's expression contort in confusion.

"Of course, they know one of the Kon heir's would be coming—."

"No, I mean do you think they're expecting _me_?" This time, Lee caught the insecurity in the man's voice. "I'm sure they'd be much more excited to see the inheritor to the throne or a warrior, not the fifth child."

Lee frowned at Rei. "Rei, they're here to celebrate the inauguration of a new port. I bet you anything that their minds are more preoccupied with festivities and the promise of better trade and commerce than you or the unnecessary speech you have to give." He assured the golden-eyed noble. "All you have to do is say your lines and you're home free."

"…I suppose you're right." The Neko-jin concluded, his shoulders not nearly as slumped as they were before.

"So, can we go? They're waiting for you…Rei?"

Rei snapped out of a second daze, glowering up at the sky. "It looks like it might rain."

Lee let out a loud laugh, rolling his eyes. "Now you're purposely being pessimistic! Trust me, Rei, it's not cloudy enough for rain and the wind's too dry for rain. Now, if you're done finding reasons to sulk, you have an appointment to keep to."

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><p>The passion and will to sail at sea, they say, is born with you in your blood. It isn't something that grows over time: there is a significant difference between being <em>accustomed<em> to sea life as opposed to _enjoying_ it. A true sea dog will always be drawn to the ocean.

Lady Salima knew that this wasn't her case.

It's not that the young redheaded woman didn't like the ocean, per se. She just…didn't like traveling on it. The filth of the ship and the crew was positively unbearable. Meals were horridly disgusting and unsatisfactory—_that_, of course, aside the fact that it was only one real meal a day, _rationed_. The storms and bad weather they would encounter from time to time were frightening. And worst of all was the confinement to one little ship for an extended period of time. It drove Salima borderline insane. In her opinion, the best part about sea travel was the arrival.

Gazing out the windows of her quarters, she made a small frown and glowered at the deep blue waters that stretched out forever before her eyes. "Whoever made the analogy that sailing the ocean waves is the same as sailing the waves of freedom must've been a complete lunatic." She mused to herself. "It's boring and tiring."

A knock came to her door just before it opened, "Skuchat'?" The man's voice asked. A smile came to Salima's face as she instantly recognized the voice. (1)

"Kane!" She warmly said, gesturing for the knight to step inside. The blue haired man did so, but remained just in front of the open door, his posture formal. "I haven't seen you all day today, what have you been up to?"

"Just helping the captain and crew where help is needed." He eloquently explained, taking his hat off in a quick hello bow.

Salima smirked a chuckle. "But you've come on this trip as one of my guards, you aren't required to help."

Kane grinned back at her, shaking his deep turquoise bangs out of his eyes. "And you can trust that should you ever need protection, I'll be there to give my life for you."

Salima chuckled again, a bit bashful yet depreciative of the extremity of his words. "I'm certain that you would, but there's no need to say that you'll lay your life on the line for me, Kane."

"But it's the truth, Mi'lady." He quickly retorted, leaving her at a loss for words. Before an awkward silence could engulf them, Kane pressed on. "Skuchat Salima, I'm just stopping by to see how you're doing and if you need anything? You've been locked up in this room all day and the captain was concerned."

Shaking her head out of the clouds, the brown-eyed woman nodded with a cheeky smile. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. I've been painting from memory. I want to see if what I draw will look similar to the jungle islands of the Neko-jin Empire when we arrive."

Kane began to head out of the room, placing his hat back on his head and concealing a smile. "I'm sure it will, Skuchat Salima. If there's anything you need call for me, I'll be headed back up to the helm to the captain."

"I shall," Salima nodded, picking up her charcoal stick to start sketching on her easel again when a though occurred to her. "Actually, Kane! I do have one favor to ask of you!"

The strapping young man turned to look over his shoulder, expectant, "Yes?"

"Could you please just call me Salima?"

Kane let out a chuckle and shook his head, "Not today, Skuchat," and closed the door behind him. With a frustrated scoff and a roll of her eyes, Salima turned back to her work and the smirk on her face turned into a soft smile. On the canvas were the sketches of the edge of a wide river, with mangroves and bamboo shoots emerging from the water's shore and the rough silhouette of clouds in the sky. In the foreground, at the right side of the canvas sitting on the spider web roots of the mangrove tree, was a little boy dressed in an oriental tunic top and pants who had long black hair in a ponytail that reached center back and feline features. He held out his hand to the viewer of the painting.

She remembered that he held out his hand to her, to climb up the mangrove trees to pet colorful, exotic birds and lizards.

It had been years since Salima had last seen Prince Rei. The last she remembered of him, he was starting his awkward preteen years where his face would randomly break out on a whim, his clothes all had an awkward fit, and his voice cracked every other word. Quite the entertaining summer for her—it was the only time she remembered being able to pick on him so much. All in good fun, of course. She wondered how much he'd changed since. She also wondered if she'd changed a lot or if he'd even remember or recognize her for that matter.

"We'll see for ourselves in a few weeks, Rei." She said to herself, placing her final charcoal details on the canvas. Nodding in satisfaction at her work, she set off to find where they crew had put away her oil paints in her room.

* * *

><p>"See that ship there, out nearly at the edge of the horizon?" A man in a long, weathered brown coat asked his subordinate. He had plum-violet hair, pale skin, and intimidating height. As if that weren't enough qualities to make his title of captain one his crew would respect, he also had a bone-chilling gaze of ice-blue eyes. His left eye had the scar of a sword slash.<p>

"Da, white sails sporting the Royal Russian Empire's colors?" His first mate gazed through the telescope set up in the cartography room and searched until he found what the captain spoke of. "We've been tailing that ship for a fort night. What's so special about it?"

"I have a hunch that they're transporting items that could very well have….questionable importance and value." The man drawled, making a coin spin on the maps set out on the table in front of him. It was a mess of papers, quills, and a bottle of rum as well.

His first mate didn't lift his gaze from the telescope. "Then we're pillaging the ship…you want me to steal it?"

"No, no, I have a better idea." The man said, now getting the young pirate's attention. The dual-blue haired man turned from the telescope and window and an eyebrow of curiosity raised, crimson eyes slightly squinting. "While the rest of the crew raids the ship, I want you to infiltrate as one of their own soldiers. Gather as much information as you can."

"Information on what?" The blue-haired man inquired, not at all pleased with this plan. The captain laughed, running a hand through his greasy plum hair.

"Kai, you do humor me from time to time…"He sarcastically chuckled, a forced chuckle. The fake humor quickly vanished. "You know what it is we're looking for. I want you to stay with these people and get as much information as you can. Figure out the reason of this voyage and, if it has any political or financial value, what they are."

The crimson-eyed man rolled his eyes, headed to leave the room. He snatched up the rum bottle as he passed the table and took a swig from it. The little alcohol that dribbled from the corner of his mouth he wipe from his face with the back of his hand, smearing the edge of one of his dirty blue triangles. "And how long will it be until you finally decide to get off your lazy ass and get me, _captain_?"

"Oh, no longer than it took last time." The man chuckled again with some cynicism. "Be ready for when we close in on them tonight…enjoy your trip, Kai." Just before slamming the door behind him, Kai gave the captain his middle finger as he downed another gulp of rum. The captain's obvious fake smile vanished as soon as the young man left. With a scowl, he picked up his dirty glass and finished the rum inside it. Glaring at the glass with an old noble crest painted on it, he took it and chucked it at the far wall, shattering it into a rain of glass.

* * *

><p>1) "Skuchat" is the Russian word for "Miss." I used it because I've decided to makes Salima Russian in the fanfiction. My reason's you'll see as this story progresses. And it's not like we assume she and the other Psykiks are of any country aside Japan…right?<p>

**VelvetSoulPanda-** This shouldn't influence how much attention you pay to this story, but I might turn this into a doushin on my deviantart account. It depends on feedback I'll receive within the next week from my art class.

This chapter may have seemed like filler (filler already? Yuck!) but it defines where we now are in the storyline. Ages will be revealed…next chapter!

Review please!


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